Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with tenantsrights

Is my landlord trying to make a soup out of me?

CharlesV42 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:46:03 -0800

Is there a legal maximum hot water temperature for a New York apartment? My hot water is clocking in at 157 degrees fahrenheit, or hotter than the center of a well done steak (measured with a digital thermometer, documented for posterity with a video).

I've found information on the minimum (appears to be 120 / 110 if there's an anti-scald valve), but not on the maximum. And this ruling appears to say that landlords have a responsibility to maintain a safe temperature, but I can't find any documentation on what that is.

Am i being a baby? Additionally, the temperature fluctuates between 110 and 155 so there's no way to take a shower, knowing which end of the spectrum you're on, without getting burned to bits.

I guess I should be happy I don't have the alternative, a cold shower every day.

I'm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (Kings County), if that helps.

I should mention I asked the super (once in person, once in text so there's a record) if the boiler can be adjusted. She claims it has been, but I am currently ice-ing my back from my attempt to shower this evening.

Why is the landlord trying to hide?

ishotjr — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:10:06 -0800

Property manager hid that other duplex tenant is property owner when getting me to sign lease. My partner and I signed a lease for a duplex back in early June, and we move in mid-July. When we were looking at the unit and signing the lease, the property manager, who handles all aspects of the property, from renting it, to maintenance, etc., told us about the "other tenant." She said it was a retired woman who likes to socialize with whoever lives in our unit, bringing over food and whatnot, and that she used to live in a neighborhood full of wild college students, so that she's cool with some noise (there are no shared walls, though). She also said that the owner is wanting the "tenants" of each unit to start sharing the cost of the landscaping costs after we move in, even though the owner paid the full cost before. There are other examples, but she definitely made it sound like some hands-off owner existed out there who rented the two units in the duplex, one to this retired lady, and one to us. The name of the owner on the lease was a company name that sounded like it could be a person's name.

I've worked for realtors and real estate lawyer in the past, so whenever I move somewhere, I look up the property in the online tax rolls out of curiosity. I hadn't done so before we signed the lease, though. Checking it out the other day, I realized that the "other tenant" was actually the property owner!

I have a hard time trusting property managers/landlords after having many bad experiences renting in college, so I find this to be a bit of red flag. While I can think of several legitimate reasons why they would do this (didn't want to freak out potential tenants, landlord wants to be friendly with neighbors without being treated like a landlord, etc.), it just seems wrong not to disclose this. Another red flag is that the previous tenant actually broke her lease and we are replacing her. The property manager said it was because she was moving in with her boyfriend. Now I am suspicious.

After this long description, I have a few questions:
1) Is this a situation that anyone else has heard of? Property owner living on the premises hiding that they are the owner?
2) Should we play dumb or address this somehow with the property manager when we go get our stuff to move in. I was thinking we should ask about the owner to see if she continues to lie, or if she's honest. We don't want to confront her about it, because we don't want to get off to a tense start.
3) I have the prior tenant's email address because their ad seeking a replacement was what I originally responded to. Should I email her and ask her if there is anything we should know?

Perhaps I'm just an overly cautious tenant, but I'm sick of being treated like an idiot by property managers. For all we know this is totally innocent, but we get a bad feeling being deceived about anything that we are locked into for a year.

Help me smoke the smokers.

allkindsoftime — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:45:55 -0800

NYC-Renters-filter. How do I make my management company make the ass-hat neighbors upstairs stop using our patio as an ash-tray. We moved into a new first-floor apartment a few months back, and it comes complete with a private patio accessed from our back door, behind the building. Cleaned it up, threw up a patio table, umbrella, tiki torches, the whole deal.

And then the butts started to rain down. And it hasn't stopped. After the first month, we cleaned up a few dozen of them, and found that one of them had burned a hole in our umbrella. So we left a polite note with each of the rear-facing units on the 5 floors above us, asking them to please use an ashtray instead of the yard. We heard back from 3 of them letting us know they don't smoke, that left the top floor or the guy directly above us. The guy directly above us is regularly out on his fire escape with friends, smoking it up, but never drops them when we're out there. The other day, however, I heard them out there and then saw - through the window, a butt hit the patio.

We've called the management company multiple times about this. Today I did another cleanup and found 57 cigarette butts, 29 joint roaches, 19 used matches, and one broken lighter. That's over 100 chances to start a fire on our patio. And an hour after I cleaned up, I walked back out and found a fresh butt on the patio. The only open window above our place, all day, has been the neighbor upstairs.

I have it all in a bag and I want to march over to the management company, find the guy in charge, present him with the bag, documentation of our calls on the issue, documentation of the damage already caused, and insist that an end be put to it. But I'd also like to know what my rights are as a tenant.

Can I refuse to pay rent? Is there some department in the city that I can threaten to go to if the management company doesn't put a stop to this? Should I threaten to go to a lawyer? Should I go to a lawyer first? (I'd rather save my cash, hence this question prior to that) How do I make them get their shit together and threaten these kids with more serious consequences if they don't stop throwing their shit in our yard?

TIA.

Illegal Eviction Notice in Los Angeles

chez shoes — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:11:48 -0800

Have you dealt with an illegal eviction notice in Los Angeles? Got home from work today to find a typed letter from my landlady asking me to move by 4/15. Long story short - she's facing foreclosure; I live in a tiny single in a 3-unit triplex; she wants to move into my single and rent out the 2+2 unit that she currently lives in for more $$$.

I'm aware of the laws governing this under the RSO, and I'm aware she did not approach this legally and have already filed a complaint with the agency.

As far as I know, she has no legal right to take any action against me until she actually files the Declaration of Intent to Evict - can anybody confirm this? Additionally, I'd like to hear from anybody else who has gone through this - any tips, support, etc. you have to offer.

I know you're not my lawyer. I'll get one if I have to, but right now I'm trying to rely on Nolo Press and my library science degree to get me through this.

Is my landlord trying to screw me over?

therumsgone — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:04:32 -0800

[collegerenterfilter] My roommates and I were told that we were not eligible to renew our lease for next year. Can they take my security deposit? How will this effect my ability to get an apartment in the "real world?" I live in a college town, were rent is ridiculously high and management companies like to take advantage of their renters. We are graduating seniors who have done nothing wrong (rent paid on time, no pets, etc.). A few days ago we received a letter telling us that we could not renew our lease for "one of the following reasons":

-Continuous outstanding balance
-Cleanliness or housekeeping issues
-Pet violations
-Illegal residents occupying the unit
-Disturbance to other residents or neighbors
-Maintenance/ repairs needed in apartment

I believe these reasons to be completely without any sort of corroborating evidence, and I wonder if this is just a ploy to keep our entire security deposit. The management company has done some questionable things in the past (such as taking all but $200 of the $2400 security deposit when a neighbor moved out and refusing to provide an itemized description of damages until a lawyer was called). They have also been relatively unresponsive with major problems: they cut a 2x3 foot hole in our bathroom ceiling when the upstairs unit was leaking, and did not come back to cover the hole for over a month.

My share of that $2400 would be nice to get back, and I don't want them to screw me over. I am also worried that another company will hear that I was asked not to continue my lease and will refuse to rent to me. My questions, really, are can I now kiss my secuirty deposit goodbye? Will I be able to rent again without too much trouble? And what can I do to make the management company take back their decision?

How to get a UK landlord to comply?

war wrath of wraith — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:31:22 -0800

What can I do to get my security deposit back from a negligent landlord in London, UK? I recently moved from Camden Town to Shoreditch amidst a host of problems, including the forced eviction of a housemate involved with heavy drugs and subsequent break-ins and vandalism by said housemate.

Rather than simply not paying my last month's rent as I probably should have done, I decided to go the legitimate route and pay before moving out.

It has been over a month now, and the landlord has still not returned my deposit. I have a copy of the lease, the terms of which I have not broken. I tried contacting the landlord many times, but now he is simply not taking my calls or dismissing me outright. I have an email/sms trail of messages and notifications regarding this issue.

What can I do? I'm not a UK citizen (fulltime student from USA), and am unaware of UK law as far as tenant rights go. I'm also unclear as to how to proceed with legal action should it come to that, which I'm prepared to do even if it means paying as much in fees as I'm likely to gain should it prove successful.

Lux et Veritas : Can my apartment windows be blocked over?

Skygazer — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 11:34:05 -0800

Looks like the one story warehouse next door has been put up FOR SALE. Problem is that if a building goes up in its stead, two of my windows will be covered over. Do I have any rights or say in the matter? I rent an apartment on the top story of a three story tenement in East Williamsburg Brooklyn. The property line is flush with the warehouse. I do have other windows other then the two in question. The NYC Dept. Of Buildings website has nothing about what a friend has termed "air rights" or "sightline" issues. Am I screwed? After 10 years making this neighborhood a real home have the wolves of the rapacious and brutish Real Estate industry arrived at my doorstep to entomb me w/o proper natural light? Any advice would helpful. Thank you.